GUCBL issue: Congress hits out at BJP

The Congress party, on Sunday, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party did not follow the democratic norms in the post-election process of the Goa Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd (GUCBL) and said that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar misused powers to appoint two directors of their choice.

“The BJP initially exploited office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to delay the election of chairman, and tried their best to purchase some of the directors from winning panel through horse-trading and other tactics. As the elected directors showed courage to prove that they are not for sale, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar misused government powers to appoint two directors, which is the power of the Board of Directors to co-opt,” said All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary Girish Chodankar.

Chodankar said that the shareholders had rejected the BJP-backed panel in the GUCBL election held on May 7, and elected a panel of 6 directors headed by Dr Anil Naik Gaunekar.

He alleged that BJP government in the state manipulated the election process and added that the government failed to follow court directives.

“The fascist trend of bulldozing its power has become visible with the fact that one of these illegally appointed directors is the wife of Parrikar’s former PA and stop-gap former Panaji MLA Sidharth Kuncalienker,” he claimed.

He said that the Parrikar as well as his BJP does not believe in any democratic institution of India hence democratic organisations and individuals should come forward fearlessly to save democracy from the clutches of these fascist forces in Goa.